2nd Operation

Hi everyone,

I am just back from the hospital where I spent a lovely couple of days.

The oncologist decided not to wait and see because the tumor was growing much faster than he had anticipated. Since it was already pretty much over the cervix, sounded like he didn't want to risk an invasion :)
In any case, the oncologist removed the entire tumor (or so he thinks, he still wants to order a scan to make sure that there are no cancerous cell left). And in doing so, he removed most of the cervix (about half maybe?). He also said that he zipped the nearby cells with a small electrical blast to reduce the risk of re-occurence in the same location. But then, my regular doc didn't believe that this could be done after she looked at the MRI (she had cancelled this procedure) and Lili (my babysitter these days) said that one of her friends (physician) knows Dr S. and thinks that he's the best oncologist/GYN in town!

Apparently, when I woke up, the first thing I said was to make sure that someone would feed my cats...and those ungrateful animals chose to poop on the kitchen floor as a thank you gesture.

Frankly, they should pay patients who spend nights in hospitals. Nurses wake you up every hour on the hour to check random things such as your blood pressure, temperature and oxygen levels which I am sure change drastically from dream to dream. They decide to draw some blood at 4AM for some lab work - there obviously isn't a better time to do that and I am sure that it can't wait. And they also like to bring you back from the cozy universe of dreams to ask you if you feel like having some more of those delicious ice chips at 2 and 3AM (I asked the nurse to convey my compliments to the chef, she looked at me as if I was a visitor from Mars) or engage me on a very intellectual exercise: estimate my pain level on a scale from zero to 10, whether or not I am complaining about pain. I replied 5.687 once but she couldn't find this on her charts so she didn't know how much of those nice narcotics she would have to administer.
And just like at work, you agree on your OKRs right after you're admitted. The nurse writes on a board by your bed "Goals". My goals were
1) pain control
2) diet: ice chips
3) clear out lung, deep breathes + cough

I did my best to eat as many ice chips as I could, to accurately measure my pain level to the hundredth decimal and to cough loud enough to wake up the entire floor.
I particularly liked the nurse who tells me: "Don't worry, Dr S. always comes early in the morning and he will change your diet". The Dr in question turned up at 11AM and moved my diet to "clear liquids" - but I had a treat of jello...a tasteless gelatinous blob. Not sure if this was an upgrade or if I had been demoted.

I was almost forgetting. Just to make sure that you do NOT get any sleep in-between check ups, they also place you in a room with someone who is being treated for sleep apnea and who snores louder than you can cough. Thank God for those narcotics and whatever chemicals there were in this anesthesia cocktail.

Doc said that I should spend at least 24hr in the hospital so they could keep an eye on me (I guarantee, they had all their senses fixated on my vitals all night), he ordered antibiotics/anti-fungal and electrolytes through IV for the entire duration of my stay (so not only are you not allowed to drink anything but you also experience all the drawbacks of fluids as you need to go to the bathroom every hour, transporting with you a heavy and clumsy IV pole which means that the door can't close). Oh, and they also want to measure your "output" so they can adjust the levels of electrolytes. I am now officially "discharged", even though they wheeled me to the parking lot so I looked more ill than when I arrived at the hospital (I was walking just fine back then). The doctor has asked me to stay home and not walk for a week, has given me more painkillers and antibiotics. After this weekend, I can switch to non narcotic pain killers :) I am not supposed to drive nor drink alcohol and I have a 24hr emergency number to call if there's any problem (fever, heavy bleeding, craving for ice chips, etc...) that's not 911...eg, I get to talk to someone who actually has heard about me and will no doubt ask me to describe my pain level on a scale from zero to ten. No exercise for 2-3 weeks (until doc says it's OK), no travel for over a month. I need to go see him next week for a funny stitches removal exercise and have regular scans/check ups for the next 1-5 years after which I will reach cruising speed of 2 OB/GYN visits/year as opposed to one.

Now, I could not finish this little story without thanking Lili who got bored with me prior to the surgery, got bored in the waiting room during the surgery and got bored waiting for my wheelchair in the parking lot upon my discharge. She managed to trick the security guards at the hospital into getting her in after hours so she could wish me a good night. Sweet Lili also filled up my fridge with tropical fruits and brought wonderful flowers to decorate my living room. Unfortunately, - and I feel SO bad - the cats can recognize a good salad when they see one and feasted on the flowers...

Overall, I feel fine. Some cramping but nothing that the narcotics can't deal with, I feel very sleepy but nothing that the narcotics can't help me with. I have an iPod, a nice collection of books and two cats to pass the time in the coming days. Oncologist said that if risk of miscarriage/early labor could probably be managed with a reinforcement (stitches) of the cervix at that time + special care, eg. get bored in bed for three months before birth. In any case, he said that he didn't have a choice, did his best and that it was better than no cervix at all. So most importantly, and unless the scan shows otherwise, I am now cancer-free.

Now that you're done reading - on a scale from zero to 10, how did you like this essay?